Ravenous
by D'ArcofNeo
Summary: A mission gone wrong would lead Jaune to experience that there were more than Grimm that humanity has to be wary off.
1. Chapter 1

The horde of black filled the horizon as far as he can see.

Countless bloodthirsty roars echoed from the distance as the horde of Grimm advance towards them. Grimm of all sizes and shapes untied for one purpose; that is to hunt those who trespassed their domain—namely them.

Jaune Arc frowned as he inspected his group. Most of them were almost near their limits. Ruby was breathing hardly and her partner Weiss was exhausted from using all those Glyphs. Blake was shaking from fear and exhaustion; no doubt, her fear came from the roar of whatever creatures lurked in the shadows. Having Faunus senses had its downsides as well. Yang had collapsed from overusing her semblance countless scratches littered her skin.

Team CRDL was in need of assistance too. Russell and Dove were trying their best to steady their breathing. Sky was resting from his grievous wounds that would be the death of him if not treated. Cardin was with him in the front, taking out any Grimm that tried to get closer.

His own team was not faring better. Pyrrha's shield was broken from an encounter with a Tyrant and it was too risky to charge with only a sword; instead, she provided help with her rifle, shooting targets from a distance. Nora was low on aura and she cannot waste any more energy if she wanted to protect her partner. Ren was out of breathe and ammo. His knife-guns were not suited for taking out so many Grimm and lacked the firepower.

They had no hopes of recovering this settlement from the Grimm.

"Our transport will arrive any moment now," he said to his group. "Help the survivors while I hold the line."

His group looked like they wanted to tell something, but refrained—they know him too much. They knew that once Jaune set his mind on something, he would do it. It was an idiotic and admirable trait, and it was because of this that he faked his way to Beacon.

"I know what you guys want to say," he smiled at them. "I appreciate the concern, but there's no need. I can still handle a hundred of them or so."

If those words came from him from the past, not one of them would believe. However, things had changed over three years. What was once the weakest in Beacon was now one of the most formidable opponents anyone could find.

I'm so taking a vacation after this.

Jaune smiled at the thought as he charged at the herd of Ursa approaching their location. A simple bash from his shield sent one flying and a slice from his sword cut another one. Jaune parried a claw strike with his shield and stabbed the Ursa at the throat.

Truth was that he was also at his limits.

He had been at his limits a few hours ago. He was just as tired as they were, but he did not show it. His group didn't to think that they could not hold out any longer. He maintained his appearance for the sake of strengthening their morale.

At least he only needs to keep up his façade for another few minutes or so—the Bullhead had already arrived and the survivors from the settlement were boarding one by one.

A roar made him place his shield defensively in front of him. A Boarbatusk had struck. He gritted his teeth and pushed down the beast with all his might. His sword buried its length between the middle of the creature's eyes.

Jaune stared forward and grimaced.

The horde was advancing—thousands of Grimm marched, they will not allow their prey to escape.

Jaune looked behind him. Only half of the survivors have boarded. At this rate, the Grimm will catch up and they would be swarmed along with their transport.

He needs to buy them some time.

He released a cry to attract the attention of the Grimm. He charged through them, plowing his way to kill anything that came in his sight. It was effective, the Grimm had their attention on him. Jaune continued his assault.

A bullet passed through the side of his head. He turned around—

It was Cardin.

That former bully had changed his ways after that even in Forever Fall. At first, no one believed him, but Cardin proved that he and his team changed for the better. He defended Faunus from those others who bullied them and apologized to those that he bullied in the past. By the end of their second year, CRDL was already close enough to hang out with teams RWBY and JNPR.

"Don't think that you'd be on the spotlight alone, Arc!"

The brunette said as he smashed his opponent with his mace. Jaune chuckled and stabbed the Beowolf in his left. The two of them fought side by side and eradicated everything that tried to get past them.

Jaune turned and saw that the rest of CRDL had already boarded the transport; they were calling for them,

He turned his head on the other direction and saw that the heavyweight Grimm had finally arrived. Deathstalker, Tyrant, Grendel, Goliath and other variety of large Grimm had finally caught up to them. If one of those gets near the transport all would be over.

"I'll hold them back, run!"

Cardin hesitated but followed his orders.

Jaune dodged an attack from the stinger of a Deathstalker and slowly retreated. His teammates had open fired and helped to eliminate other small fry that escaped him. Cardin took care of two Ursa Major before he boarded.

The Bullhead started its engine.

Jaune blocked a swipe from Grendel and ran towards the transport. He could see his friends yelling at him to move his ass quickly. He rolled his eyes but complied. The Bullhead was already ten meters above the ground, he could jump that high. However, the problem behind him remains.

His thoughts were violently interrupted when a swipe from the Tyrant's tail hit him on the side.

He grunted in pain as the spikes from the tail pierced his body and crushed some on his ribs. The world around his became a blur. Jaune's aura was already low to begin with so that wound did not heal as fast like usual.

By the times his vision returned, Jaune saw that the Tyrant ignored him and instead charged towards the Bullhead.

"GO!"

He yelled towards them. He could see their stupefied expressions. Ruby tried to jump off but her partner stopped her. It seems that Weiss had already decided. He could see the reluctance on the heiress' eyes, but he knew that she knew what was at stake.

The others followed but the ones they rescued pleaded.

Finally, the pilot had decided and activated the thrusters. The Bullhead barely dodged the terrible jaws of the Tyrant. It soared into the orange sky and disappeared within seconds from his sight. Jaune smiled but inside his heart, he knew it was over.

He was alone.

He felt the eyes of the countless Grimm lock on his.

He did not even bother to grab his weapons. He had reached his limits.

A cold sensation assaulted his chest as the horde of darkness surrounded him. He had thought that he had rid himself of this fear once he was able to kill a King Taijitu in the past.

He was wrong.

His fear of the Grimm—of death—did not vanish. It was simply buried behind the back of his mind.

However, when faced alone with these monsters, his fears returned.

His friends were not there to support him.

He was alone.

Jaune stared around him and wondered why the horde of Grimm had not taken a step to devour him.

They only stared at his weak form.

He wondered if the Grimm wanted him to feel fear, to beg before ultimately killing him.

If that was the case then they were free to try. He would not succumb to their trap.

His musings stopped when he heard them finally moved. He glance at the and saw that the Grimm were parting as if some Grimm royalty was passing. He snorted at the thought and continued to stare to the one who would bring his death.

What he saw would forever haunt his dreams.

A pair of blood red eyes stared directly at him. He could not see its outline for once his gaze fell on it he felt something.

His head throbbed with pain as the _thing_ tried to wrestle control over his body.

Once he stared at _its_ eyes, he immediately understood what _it_ wanted.

No. No. No!

He could feel it entering his body and forcibly taking control.

Once it reached his mind, memories of his friends resurfaced.

The _thing_ wanted to destroy them.

He would not allow it!

Jaune screamed in agony as the creature forcibly invaded his mind, his hands clawed his face and an inhuman sound escaped his lips.

It was winning.

NO!

It would destroy everything.

He would not allow that.

His body thrashed in pain, but he did not falter.

In a desperate last resort, he called to the remnants of his aura.

Everything went dark.

Then there was pain.


	2. Chapter 2

Kathleen was in deep trouble.

The nineteen-year-old girl ran on an alley and jumped over the metal fence. She could hear the pursuers behind her follow, and this only made her run even faster. She cursed her luck as she climbed a wall with the help of her claws. She knew very well how dangerous the streets could get at night, yet she still threw away caution to the wind the moment she heard news about the survivors of the Lobo settlement. She went into the nearest police station to request confirmation for a few names but the process took some time and by the time they told her to return the next day, it was already dark.

Maybe she should have taken that officer's offer to drive her home.

Then again, she didn't like the look on that guy's eyes. Her gut feeling had never failed before.

Now, her gut feeling was telling her was she was in trouble.

Kathleen reached the roof and jumped on the other side of the block. She landed on an dark alley full of trash and foul smell. She got up and calmed her beating heart. She wasn't very good in the stamina department.

It was then that she noticed that she was not alone.

On the other side, leaning against the vandalized wall and sitting on the ground was a person. He wore a dark windbreaker with hood that hid most of his form. The only part of his body that she could see was his pale-white hands that had red tribal tattoo on the forearms.

Great, must be a drunk or homeless man.

Kathleen was about to leave and not bother the potentially dangerous man when she heard several footsteps closing. Gasping, Kathleen hid in the shadows, thanking her fashion-sense of dark colored clothes. She slowed her breath and did not dare to make any unnecessary movements.

A moment later, four men arrived on the alley. They were the group that had been chasing her, she doubt that it was for anything good. The leader—a thug with blonde Mohawk—scanned the area and saw the figure of that guy with the hoodie.

"Hey pal, did'cha catch a Faunus run this way? Thief stole my wallet."

Kathleen suppressed a growl at the blatant lie. This is why she hated humans. Sure some of them may be sympathetic to the Faunus, but majority were assholes with this group being the prime example. She had no doubt that they would unspeakable things when they caught her.

The mysterious man did not reply or even acknowledged their presence.

"Boss, that dude looks pretty wasted," a fat-ass guy with brown hair spoke.

"Tch! Search this area, she had nowhere to run!"

Kathleen's heart pounded in fear as the group of thugs grabbed their respective switchblades and began to search the vicinity. There were no other people aside from them and the wasted guy, no one would be able to help her if they catch her. She doubted that anyone would in the first place.

She silently moved deeper in the shadows to avoid them. The skinny guy almost passed her but paused and turned the other way. Kathleen thanked the heavens that humans did not have night visions. Now she understands why Faunus won the battle at Fort Castle. Kathleen continued to move deeper and wondered why the four men suddenly grouped in the middle and seem to be whispering to one another.

A shiver ran down her spine when the four of them threw their gazes at her direction.

She had been found out!

She tried to escape but there were no other routes except the ones blocked by the group. The group approached her with matching leers and Kathleen was frozen in fear. It was only thanks to her instincts that she used her claws to scratch the fat man in the face. The man hissed in pain and grabbed her offending arm. He pulled her and secured both of her arms behind her. Kathleen winced as the leader of the group slapped her and waved his knife in front of her.

"Well well, aren't you a pretty face?"

"Scream and something bad will happen," said the skinny guy.

Kathleen shivered as the cold blade was forced onto her cheek, drawing some blood. Her body trembled in fear as she stared at the other three who were checking her out.

"Lucky! Look at her body!"

The leader placed his hand on her neck and let it wander down to her chest. This time, Kathleen couldn't help but scream.

"HELP!"

*Pa*

She was silenced by a slap. The next thing she knew was that the leader had ripped her shirt and there was a knife pressed to her neck. Tears involuntary escape from her eyes as several thoughts ran around her head.

Was this her fate, alone in the mercy of these despicable beings?

Kathleen desperately prayed for a miracle to happen. She wished the people in front of her dead, anything just to save her from this situation. She stared at the leader and then froze at the sight.

They were red.

Behind the ugly leering face of the leader was a pair of red eyes glowing. Kathleen's night vision allowed her to see the figure standing behind her assaulters. From the looks of it, the fat guy who restrained her also saw it.

"Bo-BOSS!"

Before the leader could even react, a pale hand grabbed his Mohawk and lifted him to the air. He struggled in yelped in pain, and then suddenly he was thrown in the wall. His two henchmen froze before they simultaneously attacked the red-eyed figure with their knives. The figure didn't bother dodging and just grabbed their hands and crushed it with a sickening sound.

Their cries of pain echoed in the alleyway.

The fat guy finally let go of her and the first thing Kathleen did was kick him in the balls and scratch his face several times. She then heard the sound of punches and when she looked behind her, the two henchmen have already collapsed with a large bruise forming on their faces.

She turned towards her savior and suppressed a shiver. His terrifying eyes looked at the unconscious figure below him and then turned to her. She remained rooted in the spot wondering if she escaped a bad situation only to be in a worse one.

Fortunately, the red-eyed figure turned around and started to walk away.

Unfortunately, that was the time a police car chose to appear, Kathleen shielded her eyes from the bright lights. A police officer got off the car and pointed at gun at them, another one remained on the vehicle.

"Freeze! Put your hands in the air!"

But instead of stopping and doing what the police officer said, the red-eyed figure continued to walk away. Kathleen turned to the police officers with the intent to explain but stopped when she recognized the one pointing the gun.

The same officer kept delaying her in the station and offered her a ride home.

Now, what are the chances of that person to appear here? Something stirred in her stomach and Kathleen's gut feeling told her that this was not a mere coincidence. She started to walk backwards and then sprinted away. The officer told her to stop but she continued to run and grabbed the red-eyed stranger with her.

* * *

><p>Kathleen didn't dare to return in her apartment.<p>

Instead, she crashed down on her friend's home. The said friend was one of the people she hoped to have survived the Lobo settlement. She didn't know why she took the stranger with her but she was certain that things would go messy if she let him be.

She collapsed on the sofa while the man in the hoodie remained standing.

"Err, thanks for saving me,"

She said and the man stared at her. Now that they were on the light, the man seemed less scary. She could see the lower part of his face and it was as pale as she imagined. His red eyes did not radiate the scary vibe anymore and she could see strands of his black hair.

"…"

The man turned to the door but Kathleen ran in order to block his path.

"Wait! The police are most likely searching for us!"

The man stared at her for a few moments and but did not move. Kathleen sighed and opened the television to watch the news. Just like she thought, the incident was already in the media, but what surprised her was the false information that came up with it.

[_Two unidentified suspects assaulted four teenagers—]_

The Faunus immediately turned off the television in shock. She didn't need to be a genius to guess what happened. They were framed, and she strongly suspects that the officer had something to do with it.

She slumped on the couch and shook her head.

"What the hell is happening?"

* * *

><p>Jaune opened his eyes and found himself in a strange place.<p>

The events that transpired last night suddenly flew to him and now he remembered what he was doing here. After the woman dragged him in this place, she pleaded him to stay until she everything was clear. He did not know what exactly happened, but what he knew is that the girl was in danger and someone was targeting her.

He stood up from his sitting position and found that he was alone in the living room. His bones creaked from being stuck in an awkward sleeping position but he did not care. He looked at the clock and saw that it was already noon.

He walked in front of a mirror and removed his hoodie.

Red eyes stared back at him.

Jaune touched his reflection and grimaced.

It had been a week since that incident in Lobo settlement and he had discovered quite a few changes in him. Aside from his physical changes, there were also some other things that concerned him. He wanted to return to Beacon but he couldn't, not yet. His questions remained to be unanswered.

Just what happened to me?

His was pulled out of his thought when the woman from last night walked out of where she slept and stared at him. Now that Jaune had a good look, the woman seems to be on the same age bracket as him. She had pale white hair that reminded him of someone.

There was also—

The woman stared at him from the mirror and her eyes widened, not because of his appearance but because of her own. It seems that she had forgotten her torn shirt with all the hustle from last night. The woman became red in the face and ran back to where she came.

Jaune did not pay much attention to her. There was something more important than hormones.

He was starting to get _hungry_

He needs to get away from civilization soon.

Jaune stared at his reflection one more time before he donned his hood.

The woman chose that time to appear, this time properly dressed,

* * *

><p>[<em>Sketches described the man to have a pair of red eyes while the woman was described to have white hair and Faunus traits. Please contact the police for any information about them…<em>]

Kathleen pressed the mute button and turned towards the man that saw her half naked just earlier. It was a good thing that she didn't hide in the room because of embarrassment. If she did, then he would be caught and next her.

People with red eyes weren't really common.

"See? We can't leave yet because of that. No matter how much we plea for our innocence, there are already hunters out for us."

Why in the world did the police have to put a reward for their capture in the first place? Kathleen did not understand. She was the victim yet she was being hunted along with the one who saved her. Someone has got to be manipulating things from the dark.

"…"

Worst of all, this guy doesn't even seem to care.

She sighed and debated whether to call some of her acquaintances or not. She could really use the help, but she doesn't know whether they would believe her or contact the police. After all, their faces had been in the news the entire night.

"Listen, we got to find whoever is spreading these lies."

In response to her—no the man did not even pay attention to her. Instead, before she could even ask where he's going, the man had already move to the door.

Kathleen pushed down the urge to claw him.

They were in this together after all.


End file.
